By Lucas Sharma SJ

Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States have joined other Catholic higher education institutions to stand in support of undocumented immigrants who face insecurity and potential deportation with the upcoming Trump Administration. President Elect Trump has repeatedly promised to deport millions of persons from the US.

Catholic support of immigrant follows previous action by other institutions of higher education who have called their campuses to be “sanctuary zones” for undocumented students. Catholic institutions, including our Jesuit schools, are calling for continued support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) which under the Obama Administration protects undocumented immigrants who arrived to the United States as children.

• To protect to the fullest extent of the law undocumented students on our campuses;• To promote retention of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA);• To support and stand with our students, faculty and staff regardless of their faith traditions;• To preserve the religious freedoms on which our nation was founded.

The press release signals the importance of advocating for all human persons, regardless of immigration status. This follows the example set by Pope Francis, who urges us, especially in this Advent season, to remember that “every human is a child of God! He or she bears the image of Christ!”